Vienna Portraits: Helge Hinteregger/Throat Music

I was visiting Vienna and was out with friends Heike, Reini and Ernest. We all met at a street festival in Vienna. We drank some beer and listened to some bands in the street. Heike suddenly told us to follow her. She said that she wanted to show us something unique and special. She led us through crowded streets filled with people and stalls selling food and drink. We then turned down a narrow passage. We heard strange loud guttural screams and sounds emitting from a brightly lit room at the end of the dark passage. We entered a bright yellow room filled with people watching a wild man with a mop of Red-hair working on an electronic keyboard screaming and making extreme faces as if he was in agonizing pain. The sounds coming out of his mouth and throat were sounds that I had never heard before. These human and electronic sounds mixed together produced an unearthly sound that vibrated through the room. The closest I could describe the sound and music is a mix of shaman and deep Mongolian throat singing. I found out later that I came somewhat close to my description when I met Helge and spoke to him.

Helge Hinteregger started throat music in 2009. He uses his larynx for the production of clicking sounds and noises.The sounds are picked up by a self-developed microphone, which is mounted outside on the larynx. The signal is then processed live by digital touch pads. The mouth and throat serve as an additional resonance chamber. Helge Hinteregger doesn’t use any pre-prepared sounds or samples.I went on to do some research and found out that this instrument is new. It is a double microphone fixed on his larynx and processes through three electronic touch-pads and Helge uses a mixing board to alter the various sounds produced. The description here does not do this music justice and you just have to experience it! 

Helge performs solo concerts, but he also has two bands that he does concerts with. He has a band called Flugeld with Martin Zrost on bass and sax and Paul Skrepek on drums. Helge plays throat of course! The other band is called Noxe with the same line-up plus Hannes Löschel on keyboards and Helge playing throat. When the concert was over I just looked at Heike and asked, "What was that???!!!"

Heike just looked at me and replied' "That was neo-no-wave-noise-freakout music!"

Go to Helge's site and find out more: http://www.throatmusic.at/